Puerto Rican Nightjar

The species is likely to have historically occurred in moist limestone and coastal forests in northern Puerto Rico, in addition to the current range of dry limestone, lower cordillera and dry coastal forest. The nightjar is presently mostly found in closed canopy dry forest on limestone soils with abundant leaf litter and an open understorey. Lower densities are present in open scrubby forests. Populations have so far been confirmed in three locations in the southwest of the island: Susúa State Forest, Guánica Dry Forest and Guayanilla Hills. The first nesting record of the Puerto Rican nightjar in Maricao State Forest was reported in 2005.

Estimates of the breeding population of Puerto Rican nightjars in 1962 were of less than 100 pairs. In 1968, the species was added to the endangered species list of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the IUCN Red List, where it was originally classified as Threatened. It was uplisted to Critically Endangered in 1994, but downlisted again to Endangered in 2011, after the population had been assessed as small but essentially stable. Current estimates are of 1,400-2000 mature birds, which roughly corresponds to 1984 numbers. The species is legally protected throughout its range. Puerto Rican nightjars are considered to be under pressure from habitat loss due to urban development and agricultural expansion, and through predation by introduced predators such as the small Indian mongoose and feral cats, and native predators such as owls. It is possible that the large scale deforestation that occurred during the late 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s is the reason that the nightjars are no longer found on the north part of the island. Mitigating habitat impact on private lands and controlling public access to the forest reserves during their peak nesting season has been suggested as a conservation management technique for this species.